Chapter 4

     “Bright eyes, I think I may be in love with you.” Said Seph, seriously before cracking a grin. “Or at least your cooking that is.”
     “Thanks…” Said Rachel, dryly.
     “I mean it, bright eyes. I love your cooking.” Continued Seph and then asked in a poor boy, British accent, “May I have some more food please, miss?”
   Rachel giggled and replied, “Okay, Seph.” She handed Seph a plate of chicken and lettuce.
     “Thank you, bright eyes~” He sang and scarfed down on his meal. Rachel got herself a plate of the food she cooked in large portions and sat down next to Seph.
     “Uhm…hey Seph?” Rachel asked.
     “Hmm?” Seph replied with food in his mouth.
     “Uh, how did you meet X?” She asked. Seph paused and swallowed his food.
     “To answer your question, well…X and I, we…we met when I was still sane. I had lost my way and found myself in Zyeane…then……” He stopped.
     “Then what?” Rachel asked, getting all excited.
   Seph looked up at Rachel with puppy eyes.
     “I can’t remember…”
     “Aww, it’s okay Seph, I was just curious.” Rachel said seeming to be okay, but really, she wanted to know how the twosome came to know each other and learn a little bit about the mysterious criminal, X.
     “Bright eyes…” Seph mumbled.
     “Yeah?” Rachel asked, turning her head to face the boy but was met with a kiss on the nose. Rachel flustered and Seph asked, “Do you love me?”
     “Of course! Seph is my friend!” Smiled Rachel. The flustered part of her mind said that he meant it as more than friends, but she hushed that part reprimanding herself for wishful thinking.
     “Oh……” Said Seph, trying to sound bright though he was feeling depressed because he had indeed meant it as more than friends. “I love my bright eyes too.”
     “Aw…how touching…” Sighed a voice. The two whirled around jumping to their feet. There stood Xerxes with a grin on his face and a hand on his staff.
     “For all his faults, my brother is a smart one……Having a Shade Piece repair the broken time keeper…Turning useless rotten fruit ripe again is quite a feat, don’t you think?” Grinned Xerxes, advancing. “But I am afraid now is the time for harvest.”
     “Run, bright eyes!” Seph ordered, taking Rachel by the wrist, the two running away.
     “How amusing, they really think they can get away so easily.” Xerxes mused. He outstretched his staff in front of him and it grew at an amazing rate. A portal appeared before Rachel and Seph, but suddenly, Xerxes staff caught Seph around his ankle, coiling up his leg and he was being dragged aback.
     “B-bright eyes!” Seph called, fear taking over him. He didn’t want to be nearly eaten again and he didn’t want to lose his dear bright eyes. Rachel spun around and saw that Seph was being dragged away.
     “Seph!” She called, racing towards the boy.

     “Sorry girl. A shade like you is only a nuisance.” Said Xerxes. With a casual flick of his wrist he brought down the other end of the staff down upon Rachel’s head.
     “NO!!!” Screamed Seph as Rachel crumpled to the ground.

     “Shades are always so troublesome.” Sighed Xerxes kicking Rachel over. She remained still and limp. Blood was trickling out from under her hair. Seph stared at her in horror. Though there was no clocks anywhere in sight the little sanity that had been regained with Rachel completely left him.
     “Let’s be off.” Said Xerxes dragging off the limp Seph and leaving Rachel in the dirt.

~***~

     “Something is not right…” Murmured Xzander.
     “What’d you say?” Asked Sarah.
     “Never mind; it’s nothing.” Said Xzander turning away.
     “Kay…” Sarah said. The power in the room suddenly went out and there was a shrill scream. When the power turned back on, Sarah was gone.
     “Sarah?! #%^* it! They took her!” Xzander cursed, stalking off to his room, throwing on his white over coat, dark brown jeans, black boots, and white hat with his signature “X” printed on it �" rushing out to find Sarah.

~***~

The three sheep had finally got Sarah and tied her hands behind her back, and legs were bound in case she tried to escape by running away, just to make sure she wouldn’t try to get away from them.
     “Let me go!” Sarah screamed.
     “Hush!” The red head demanded.
     “No!” She spat. The red head man fumed and handed Sarah to the black and blond haired men.
     “So sorry about Sheep there, he can be a bit hot-headed at times.” The blond haired man said apologetically.
     “Sheep, why are you apologizing to this time keeper?” The black haired man asked to the blond haired one.
     “Because, Sheep, she-”
     “Wait, why are you calling each other “Sheep”?” Sarah asked, very confused.
     “Well…we don’t have names.” The blond man said.
   An idea popped into Sarah’s head and she asked to all three men, “If I give you names, will you let me go?”
     “Name us?! Do you think we’d want to be named by a time keeper like you?! Do you think we’re animals?!” The red headed man bellowed into Sarah’s face.
     But, the way you all call yourself by “Sheep” is like you are an animal… Sarah thought. “No…I- just-…can I give you all names so I know what to call you?”
     “No.” He said bluntly.
     “How about Lance?” Sarah suggested to the hot-head. His face looked stunned and he started to turn a slight pink.
     “Fine…I-I’ll be called…Lance…” Lance said. He seemed to be a little flustered and happy to have a name.
     “Thomas?” Sarah suggested to the blond man. He too looked flustered and replied, “O-okay.” He looked to be hiding and holding back a smile.
     “And, Danny?” Sarah suggested to the dark haired man.
     “…No.” He replied in monotone.
     “Uh……Cal?”
     “…No.”
     “Adam?”
     “…No.”
     “………Peter?”
     “…Hmm…okay.” Peter finally agreed, plainly.
     “Hey, you know, she’s the first person ever to give us our own names…Can we help her?” Thomas asked.
     “Why would we help a time keeper like her? She may have given us names, but we still have to take her to Duke Xerxes!” Lance reminded.
     “But it seems that with X’s mark on her �" the Duke wouldn’t be able to do anything to her.” Peter said.
     “So, we let her go?” Thomas asked.
     “No.” Lance said strictly.
     “Great, we’re letting her go for now.” Thomas said uniting the ropes which bound Sarah's hands and legs.
     “What?! Are you MAD!!” Lance bellowed.
     “Are you insane?” Thomas inquired. “If we take her back in this condition, Duke Xerxes will surly punish us.”
     “Good-bye, see you soon dearie~” Peter sang and walked Sarah away from the bickering twosome. He left her alone and walked back to his companions.
     “Sarah!” A familiar voice called. Sarah recognized the voice as Xzander’s and ran to the direction the call came from.
   Sarah stumbled blindly toward the sound of Zanders voice clumsily as her wrists and ankles regained their circulation from being so tightly tied up. Her head ached for some reason. The clock struck two.
     “Sarah!” She heard Xzander shout suddenly. She saw running feet but her world seemed to be tipping…
     “NO!”

~***~

Rachel opened her eyes slowly to the feel of her hair being preened. Slowly she opened her eyes and tilted her head back. A baby Griffin sat by her head, patiently pulling her long strands of hair through its beak while its wiry lion’s tail lay curled and twitching against her chest. Rachel frowned. All across her skin there were gold tattoo like gears turning counterclockwise. All across her the wounds shed accumulated were being healed. Suddenly the memories of what had happened came rushing by and she sat up straight gasping.
     “SEPH!”
   The baby Griffin cooed, startling Rachel. She turned to her right and backed away.
     A-a Griffin? She thought. The small bird leaned in towards her and nuzzled its beak to Rachel’s cheek, causing her to giggle.
     “Brrr~” It cooed happily.
     “That bird really seems to like you.” A voice said.
     “Huh? Who said that?” Rachel asked. A girl with milk chocolate skin, long strait dark hair, and glowing golden eyes with black eye liner and dark purple eye shadow appeared next to the baby Griffin wearing a black tang top with layered ruffles and a gray droopy sweater over to cover her bare shoulders, light blue jeans with small tears, black flats, and a heart locket necklace around her neck.
     “Hello.” The dark skinned girl answered.
     “Who are you?” Rachel asked. “What's your name?”
     “Cherry.” She said. “And you �" I should be asking you these questions.”
     “Rachel…” Rachel replied.
     “Well then, Rachel, tell me why you’re here.” Cherry asked.

     “I don’t know if I should…It doesn’t seem like I can trust anyone here…Well except Sarah and Seph.” Said Rachel uncertainly.
     “Probably wise.” Agreed Cherry. “I wouldn’t if I were you. In fact, I wouldn’t be inclined to trust you at all except that Phyfile seems to like you.” Noticing Rachel’s look of confusion she clarified, “The Griffon.”
     “Um…Right.” Said Rachel frowning at the adorable little creature that had now curled up in her lap. “Thank you for your help healing me…But I need to go now. My friend is in trouble and I have to help him.”
     “The boy with the clock eye?” Asked Cherry uncertainly.
     “Yes.”
     “You shouldn’t go near him. He is dangerous.”
     “Maybe. But he is also good and kind and sweet and- and my friend.” Said Rachel holding the Griffon to her chest.
     “Very well…” Said Cherry after a while staring at her. “I’ll help you to the castle undetected…Then you’re on your own.”

~***~

Sarah woke up with a start. She was warm in her bed at X's house but something was not right. She snuck out of her secret room and gasped. The place had been ransacked and X was gone.

~***~

Xzander awoke because his scar was throbbing. He frowned with his eyes closed; it only ached when the thing that had wandered him was nearby as well. Or rather the combination of things. Xzander had to focus very carefully so that he didn’t visibly tense. He wondered how on earth his brother had pried the Tinker boy away from his precious “Bright Eyes”. Something told him that Sarah’s friend was probably not doing so great right now. Not that it was any of his concern; his priority was Sarah and no one else. Time had started to move and there was no telling how long their fragile world would last. The fruit needed to be harvested NOW or it would rot all. Sarah’s fate had been decided…as for her friend he was not sure. He had watched her carefully when she’d arrived, but he saw nothing that indicated that she was a Time Keeper as all those from the other realm must be. He had concluded she must be a fake. Unless something was blocking her power…

~***~

     “Sarah! What are you doing here?” Whispered Rachel.
     “Huh?!” Sarah exclaimed, startled. She turned around to see Rachel with the baby Griffon in her arms, making cute soft cries.
     “Sarah, what are you doing here?” She repeated.
     “I-I don’t know…Last thing I remember was…Zander! Where’s Zander?” Sarah asked.
     “Hm? Why are you so worried about him all of a sudden?”
     “I-I-” Sarah began to fluster and her face grew a light pink.
     “Doesn’t matter, I need you to come with me.” Rachel said taking Sarah by the wrist.
     “Where are we going?” She asked.
     “Seph’s been taken hostage and we need to get him back.” She replied.

~***~

Cherry had previously taken Rachel to the castle before she ran into Sarah from the little griffin flying away; somehow remembering the way back and this time she decided they’d wear capes to cover their faces, not even sure if they’d be able to make it through the gates unnoticed.
     “What’s the plan?” Sarah asked.
     “The plan is…To rescue Seph.” Said Rachel blankly.
     “Uh…”
     “It’s a work in progress.”
     “Okay.” Sarah looked around spotting a part of the wall that glinted slightly in the sun. Sarah nudged Rachel and pointed at it. The two girls moved closer and the Griffin alighted on the crest of the slight out cropping.
     “What is it?” Whispered Sarah staring and the thousands of twisted metal bars and broken gears imbedded in the rock.
     “I…I think it used to be a clock…” Said Rachel. The Griffin began to sing a soft haunting song. Rachel’s eyes drooped slightly and reached out her hand.
     “What are you doing?” Hissed Sarah in alarm.
     “I…am not sure…” Said Rachel. Her fingers brushed over a gear and it glowed bright silver and then spread to all the other pieces. “Listen to that……”
     “To what? The Griffin stopped singing…”
     “It’s beautiful…” Whispered Rachel. She began moving her hands as if playing some strange instrument and with every gesture the broken pieces moved and began repairing themselves. At last the clock was completely reassembled. “Start the clock Hime.”
     How did she- Thought Sarah but shook it off and took the watch winding it up. It began to tick once again and there was a bright light blinding the Time Keeper. When she could see again, the clock looked different. It had changed into some sort of weapon like back when she was possessed at Xzander’s place. It was a silver Razor, light weight and felt good to wield.
     “Beautiful…” Sighed Sarah wistfully swinging it. Carefully she tried to hand it back to Rachel, who had after all repaired it, but she shook her head.
     “I prefer fixing things. Plus I am so clumsily I’d probably be in more danger with a weapon than without one.” Grinned Rachel.
     “Okay.” Said Sarah twisting the weapon and turning it into a clock ring.
     “On the bright side look what it opened up!” Exclaimed Rachel. The rock where the clock had been had crumbled revealing a narrow passage inside the very walls of the castle. Without further ado the Griffin dove in and the girls followed after.

~***~

After a long while of walking through the rocky tunnel, it slowly began to have bricks embedded into the walls and the floor turning to carpet.
     “It looks like we made it to the castle basement.” Rachel observed, removing the scarf from her face. Sarah did the same.
     “Where do you think we should look first?" Sarah asked.
     “The prison cells. He might be there.” Rachel replied. Sarah nodded and the two girls made their way to the cells which were heavily guarded.
     “What now? How are we gonna get past all these guys.” Sarah asked. Her clock ring began to vibrate and it changed into the rapier. An idea came to Rachel’s head, grinning and taking both of Sarah’s hands.
     “It looks like we’ll have to fight our way to Seph’s cell.”
     “What? But-”
     “For Seph.”
     “…Okay.” Agreeing to Rachel’s request, Sarah pulled the scarf back over her face so she wouldn’t be identified. She was nervous and scared, but then her eyes glowed as before and turned gold. Her other half, the Time Keeper half, had awoken and she walked casually down the halls, unafraid of being seen.
   Guards noticed the strange girl, the commander of the Guards being informed.
     “Then go get her and lock her up you dummy!” He said. They saluted and took hold of Sarah…but the power she held was so strong, they bounced back.
     “Wow! When was Sarah able to do that?” Rachel said surprised, observing from the side lines.
     “You Time Eaters shan’t eat me.” The possessed Sarah said. The guards lay unconscious on the brick floor, Sarah turning to Rachel letting her know it was safe and ordering her to follow. She nodded and trotted to her friend’s side.
   Rachel was concerned. She had never seen Sarah act that way (the possessed part is from the mark Xerxes inflicted). As she studied her friend, her vision seemed to twist and suddenly she could into the inner workings of all that was around her bathed in a pale gold, just as she had when she repaired the clock. Shifting her focus she peered at the walls.
     “Seph isn’t being kept here. However, your X is in the cells straight in from of us. How about-” Rachel trailed off as she glanced at Sarah. Through her vision she could see something dark wrapped around her friend. Rachel blinked and suddenly her vision was back to normal.
     “I’ll go get X.” Said Sarah brightly.
     “I don’t know if that’s a good idea…”
     “Come on! I don’t even know where Seph is!” Protested Sarah. Rachel frowned…She looked back to normal.
     “Fine. But the griffin goes with you.”
     “Deal.” Grinned Sarah.

Author's Note

Sorry it took so long to post this ^^;
Well, it's up now and we're working on chapter 5. We'll also try and put more pictures up as well :) Sarah's working on tableting a picture Rachel drew of Sarah x Zander ;) She'll be getting to it as soon as she can~